When we make decisions in our lives, our main concern is how those decisions will affect our futures. What we don’t realize is the effect those decisions will have even beyond our own futures. There’s no way to know this when we make the decisions, but that doesn’t mean it can’t become someone else’s problem or that we won’t have to deal with someone’s problems from decisions made in the past.
Author Brian Kindall tackles this very idea in his novel, Sparrow, putting the weight of the world on the shoulders of his young hero who is battling the consequences of a past family scandal. Below is my review of Sparrow followed by an interview with the author, Brian Kindall. Then, enter to win a copy of his book via the Rafflecopter form below!
Sparrow plot summary
Young Timothy Sperling lives in the town of Candela, a once thriving town that has fallen into ruin. Timothy lives with his uncle, Morris the Morose, in the Wellbeck Tower. He makes his home in the attic while his uncle shuts himself up in his study, occasionally sending his nephew out on missions to learn the latest fads and fashions.
One night, Timothy is woken up by the sound of his mother’s voice who has not been seen in six years. He looks out his window just in time to see a shooting star. Instead of wishing for what he really wants, Timothy arbitrarily wishes for it to snow in his otherwise snowless town. The next morning, the townspeople find all of Candela covered in snow with more falling by the minute.
But what starts out as a pleasant surprise leads to a major disaster, and Timothy teams up with a famous explorer from his family’s past to stop the snow, uncover the truth about his family’s legacy, and pull himself out of the rut of living in his dreary, dried-up town.
The story
Sparrow reads like a classic fairytale with a small town for a setting, a determined orphan for a hero, and a magical wish turned disastrous for its conflict. The story unfolds slowly as the arrival of the snow incidentally uncovers the scandalous backstory.
The overall plot is pretty sophisticated for a middle grade novel. The history of the town and its rise and fall from a major contributor to the fashion world to a disgraced exploiter of natural resources is not typical of children’s literature. However, the story doesn’t deep dive into the intricacies of the business world, only the overview of how an unrequited love story sparked the endeavor of creating beautiful clothing from the feathers of rare birds.
The story then pivots into an old-fashioned adventure story topped with a layer of folklore. It’s intense, action-packed, and cathartic in how it helps the characters involved move forward after being stuck in place for so long.
The characters
Timothy is your standard orphan boy hero. He’s sensitive and lonely with only the birds in his tiny, dreary attic to talk to. The story gives him a sense of purpose as well as an explanation as to his uncle’s strange behaviors, his parents’ disappearance, and his town’s history. This ties into the backstory element which has caused Timothy to pay the price, not only for his uncle’s mistakes but also for his uncle’s unwillingness to attempt to fix those mistakes, or at least protect his nephew from feeling the need to shoulder that burden.
It’s Timothy who blames himself for wishing on a star in a decision of selflessness that backfires rather than his uncle’s selfish decisions that occurred long before Timothy’s wish. This makes Timothy all the more noble and helps to point out the areas where we as readers can look back on our past challenges and question those times when we shouldered the consequences for events that were beyond our control.
My recommendation
Sparrow is a slow burn that admittedly drags in the beginning and ends just as it really feels like it’s taking off. But it has a noble kid hero and an old school folklore atmosphere for readers who like a more grounded adventure story that takes places in the main character’s own backyard.
I’d like to have seen more interactions between the characters in this story and more communication or a more organic and uncovered backstory, particularly with Timothy. But where it lacks in those areas, it excels in its original premise, noble mission, and thoughtful themes. We can’t control heartbreak, loneliness, or the actions of others any more than we can control the weather. But we can control how we respond to those feelings and how far we’re willing to go to right the wrongs in our world, whether we instigated them or not.
My rating
An interview with Brian Kindall
Sparrow has on old school fairytale feel to it. Were you inspired by any classic fairytales?
No specific fairytales inspired me with Sparrow, but as I was writing it, I saw glimmers in my mind of various scenes from stories by Hans Christian Andersen. I also feel like there’s a little bit of Dickens in there, especially from Oliver Twist, as well as the general tone from that old French children’s film The Red Balloon. The dramatic ending in Sparrow is definitely inspired by the ending in The Red Balloon.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Tim is obviously the main character, but I think his morose uncle Morris is pretty interesting. He starts out as just a cranky old guy that we don’t really like, but then as his backstory comes out, we realize he’s actually a very heroic soul who is quite likable after all. It’s always fun to watch a character go through such a big positive change.
Are you a bird expert? Without giving too much away, how did you come up with the storyline involving birds?
When I was a kid, I was quite a bird watcher. They always struck me as so beautiful and mysterious. And they could fly! I think every kid dreams of having that superpower.
When I grew up, I sort of left my bird watching days in the past. Too busy with other things. But then my own kids came along. Like myself as a boy, they became fascinated with birds. They drew pictures of sparrows and built birdhouses for bluebirds.
I have a very clear image etched on my mind in which my youngest son Lee is standing barefoot in his pajamas in the snow with a handful of birdseed held up to the sky. Perched on his fingers in that image is a dark-eyed junco enjoying a morning meal. That moment inspired Sparrow – that innocent and pure connection between a kid and nature.
Tim is a lonely yet determined boy with a big heart. Is he based on anyone in particular?
Although he has his own unique problems, I would say Tim is an everykid. He’s that courageous young person who lives quietly inside every boy and girl. He’s that part of a kid who wants to do the right thing, who wants to make the world a better place, and who wants to help people with their struggle. Of course, it’s difficult for a kid to find a way to do any of that, but if young readers connect with Sparrow, I believe it will be because they see something of themselves in the story’s bighearted hero.
The backstory that is explored later in the book ties into Tim’s story as an example of “generational trauma.” Was it intentional to show how our mistakes in the past can affect future generations down the line? How can we prevent younger generations from having to deal with them, or how can we combat the mistakes we inherit?
Like it or not, to some extent we’re all suffering from “generational trauma.” The mistakes made by previous generations touch everyone, just as our actions will affect people in the future. It’s part of the ongoing dilemma and challenge of being human.
There’s no surefire way to protect kids from those problems. What’s more helpful is to give them a clear view of what problems they’ll have to face. Still, it’s not fair to burden a young person with nothing but stress and anxiety. Hope is necessary if they’re going to lead happy, productive lives. We may not be able to protect kids from life’s challenges, but we can give them examples of hope and determination for facing those challenges, and books are a great place to present them with those positive life skills.
There’s an environmental theme to the story as well. Was this a major element in shaping the story, or did it just come about as the story developed?
Anyone born into the world today will sooner or later have to face issues concerning the environment and our relationship with nature. Whether it’s in school, on television, or just seeing a beautiful old tree being cut down to make room for a new shopping mall.
I think kids need clear and applicable ways of understanding this problem. They need relatable characters in stories going through similar problems in order to help them understand how to work with the world they were born into.
It wasn’t my intention to write a story with a heavy-handed lesson about the destruction of the environment, and that’s certainly not the overriding theme of Sparrow, but if we’re to be honest with young readers, something of that theme should probably be lurking beneath the surface of the story. It’s my opinion that there’s no friendlier place for a kid to encounter life’s problems than in the pages of a good adventure tale with a lot of exciting situations and heroic characters.
The setting mirrors those small towns that rely on one particular industry in order for it to thrive, or at last survive. Is Candela based on a real place?
I live in a town that was originally built on the logging industry. When the mills closed and that industry went elsewhere, the town had to come up with another means of survival. Because we’re in the mountains and have a beautiful lake, it was a no-brainer that tourism would save the day.
But now, honestly, tourism is getting out of hand. Our little town and its lake can’t gracefully handle the thousands of tourists that swarm over it on their holidays. Since I’ve been here pretty much my whole life, I’ve been able to watch the change and can see that it isn’t necessarily as positive as the local business owners tell us it is.
Nature is suffering. Our local environment is being overrun with opportunities for visitors to have a good fast time without any thought given to the effect it has on the environment. I suppose, obliquely, Candela is a version of my own town. Not to mention that we also get a ridiculous amount of snow every winter.
Any plans for a sequel?
Sparrow, along with my other two middle grade novels – Blue Sky and Pearl – are all related to one another. Not sequels, per se, but stylistically similar in that they involve daring young people overcoming big challenges in enchanted settings. They all have that fairytale quality to them and are all a little bit magical. It won’t be what you’d expect from a direct sequel, but my next middle grade novel will definitely echo the same mysterious mood and dramatic adventure that readers enjoy in Sparrow.
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I really enjoyed your review, it was well written and had alot of love put into it. I would have to pick up a copy of this book, and read it. thanks for sharing